I'm finishing up a repaint of Impossible Toys Medic (which I got in BBTS clearance) as Arcee. This is the first figure, or anything for that matter, I've actually repainted in any seriousness and I'm just about done but was wondering about a sealant.

Since her body is only held together by about two screws and the rest are tiny little clip/hinges I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a sealant that would work well for the tiny moving parts, or if it will make any difference at all.

And if it's an option (I have no idea) a low gloss or unnoticeable finish to suit the classic figures better.

I'm finishing up a repaint of Impossible Toys Medic (which I got in BBTS clearance) as Arcee. This is the first figure, or anything for that matter, I've actually repainted in any seriousness and I'm just about done but was wondering about a sealant.

Since her body is only held together by about two screws and the rest are tiny little clip/hinges I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a sealant that would work well for the tiny moving parts, or if it will make any difference at all.

And if it's an option (I have no idea) a low gloss or unnoticeable finish to suit the classic figures better.

Thanks in advance

Testors Dullcoate is about as good as it comes. However, if the moving parts you mention rub on each other, even a sealant won't stand up to too much movement. Check for paint rub issues before you seal it.

Hotwire Customs wrote:Testors Dullcoate is about as good as it comes. However, if the moving parts you mention rub on each other, even a sealant won't stand up to too much movement. Check for paint rub issues before you seal it.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll give this a shot, I'm just hoping not to restrict the movement by adding too many thick layers on these smaller parts, I don't sit and transform my figures all day but at the same time don't want the paint rubbing off the second I look at it, so hopefully your suggestion will serve me well.

I need advice on preparing a figure to paint. I'm a real amateur at repaints...dont have a lot of time, just do it for fun. I want to paint RID Powerizer Prime as his paint apps are just awful...In the past I've had trouble getting the figure to take the paint. I've read about washing with warm soapy water but I'm wondering about sanding that I've heard about.

It would make sense that it would allow the paint something to hold onto, but wouldnt the figure show scratches from the sanding?

For the pin removal, try heating the pin using the tip of a soldering iron. Be very careful not to touch the surrounding plastic as this could harm the figure beyond repair. First, figure out which end of the pin see threaded. Then heat the pin for a few seconds. Once its heated, push from the other end. When the tip pokes out, grab it with your needlenose pliers, and pull it out. Go slow, don't rush. If you melt the plastic too much, it's ruined.

As for prep, it all depends on the paints. For most of my work, I lay down a base of Krylon Camouflage Ultra Flat Black as a primer, then go over that with Testers enamels. You can sand it to promote adhesion, just be sure to use a 1200 grit paper or higher so as not to gouge the plastic. Also a good idea to transform the figure while in the primer stage to find rub spots and then sand those down using an emory board first, to remove the bulk of the material. Then use progressively high grit sand paper to smooth the finish. Go slow at this stage as you can always take away more plastic but, you cannot put it back.

I hope this helps you guys. Another word of advice, practices these tricks on junkers! That way, if you mess up, no harm done to your project.

Scrap, I just realize this is the thread I should be posting my toy disassembling questions.

Anyways, I'm wondering if anyone here knows how to remove the clear headlights on TF's. Certain ones like Movierverse Swindle and RTS Bumblebee have tinted headlights, which is cool, but they look fake because the plastic underneath is showing through.

In order to paint under the plastic headlights, I naturally need to remove the headlights but can't seem to find a way to do so. I'm hesitant pry them off for fear of damaging the plastic.

Arlekkin wrote:I've been trying to remove the pins from the lower leg of Tomahawk, but the pin won't budge (even after hammering). Should I heat a bit the plastic (with a hairdryer) before hammering?

Soldering iron. Take a look at the pin first. You'll notice one side is flush with the plastic, and the other is recessed a bit. Heat the soldering iron until it's nice and hot. Then, touch it to the flush end of the pin. Be very careful not to touch the plastic or it will melt beyond repair! Heat the pin for around 30 seconds, then quickly tap the other end with the hammer and nail. This may take a few tries but, it works. I also suggest practicing on some junkers first, so that you don't ruin your Tomahawk figure.

I am a huge TF fan and have long appreciated the kitbashing of G1's, esp on the big guys like Omega and Metroplex.

I have been very sucessful on kitbashing those 2 and I feel that I wanna tackle a couple of combiners next (i.e. Menasor & Superion). I am 90% sure of what direction I wanna go.

I like the combiner design of Menasor by FrenzyRumble and I am well on my way...buuuuuuut...I dont know what was used as the combiner ports for the arms and legs. I would realy like to know what is the BEST materials to use for this.

I'm trying to do a headswap between the walmart exclusive dotm bumblebee and rotf deluxe soundwave. So far I've simply been trying to plug soundwave's head into the bumblebee body, but that hasn't been working. It looks like either the plastic on the head sticks too far from the socket for bumblebee's peg to fit it or the pastic around bee's peg is conflicting with the head I'm not sure. Does any one have any ideas on what I should do? This is my first attempt at something like this besides a sideswipe repaint so forgive my naivete. If I should shave down the plastic how would I go about doing it? I'm thinking that I should probably shave off around the ball peg because I'm afraid of ruining the socket on soundwave's head. Any advice on this would be great.

Motto:"Remember, this hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need therapy."

Weapon: Electro-burst Rifle

ricemazter wrote:I'm trying to do a headswap between the walmart exclusive dotm bumblebee and rotf deluxe soundwave. So far I've simply been trying to plug soundwave's head into the bumblebee body, but that hasn't been working. It looks like either the plastic on the head sticks too far from the socket for bumblebee's peg to fit it or the pastic around bee's peg is conflicting with the head I'm not sure. Does any one have any ideas on what I should do? This is my first attempt at something like this besides a sideswipe repaint so forgive my naivete. If I should shave down the plastic how would I go about doing it? I'm thinking that I should probably shave off around the ball peg because I'm afraid of ruining the socket on soundwave's head. Any advice on this would be great.

You have the right idea with shaving the ball on the head. I'd suggest using some 1000 grit sand paper(automotive type is fine) or using a nail file and then smoothing off with the sand paper. Go slowly and test fit it often, as you can easily sand more and don't want to take off too much. Good luck and have fun customizing

KnightStrike wrote:You have the right idea with shaving the ball on the head. I'd suggest using some 1000 grit sand paper(automotive type is fine) or using a nail file and then smoothing off with the sand paper. Go slowly and test fit it often, as you can easily sand more and don't want to take off too much. Good luck and have fun customizing

Just a little more info on my problem if that alters the advice at all. My main dillema is the additional plastic on soundwave's head and or the length of the ball peg on bumblebee. I'm stuck between either shaving off plastic around the peg or shaving off plastic on the head. The peg is not static and sits on its own joint that connects it to the body, which I'm afraid will weaken and break if I shave off plastic there. The plastic on the head comes off of the head's ball socket, which I'm afraid I will ruin by shaving around it, making the head useless unless I glue it or something. One thing I noticed between the two figures is that soundwave's head peg is longer than bee's so at one point I thought of cutting them off and gluing them back to the new body. My thinking now is that it would be a drastic step, and I risk irreperably ruining both figures. This idea is actually based off of one I saw on youtube by Gabstaify http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeZo29okh0c only I'm trying to make sure this version can still transform. Can anyone tell what he did to make the head fit? It looks to me that the space between the head torso and peg is larger than it would be unaltered on the same mold but I can't really tell.Anyway I was just providing some more info on my dillema for anyone who wants to take a crack at it. Thanks for any and all advice.

Hey guys I was browsing for a pin punch online today and came across this tool. I was wondering what you guys think, and if it would be anygood for removing pins instead of the pin punch, hammer method.

hey guys, not sure if this was asked before, but what do you guys think of using nail polish as paints for figures? been experimenting with the idea after finding colors ive been looking for in the polishes that i cant find in normal model paints.

Motto:"Remember, this hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need therapy."

Weapon: Electro-burst Rifle

Mindewipe24 wrote:Hey guys I was browsing for a pin punch online today and came across this tool. I was wondering what you guys think, and if it would be anygood for removing pins instead of the pin punch, hammer method.

Motto:"Remember, this hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need therapy."

Weapon: Electro-burst Rifle

grimdragon2001 wrote:hey guys, not sure if this was asked before, but what do you guys think of using nail polish as paints for figures? been experimenting with the idea after finding colors ive been looking for in the polishes that i cant find in normal model paints.

I have used clear nail polish to tighten up joints with no issues, but I'm not sure how difficult it would be to get a smooth thin finish with nail polish. If you have some scrap plastic you can give it a shot. I wouldn't think adhesion would be an issue for you either.

im interested in knowing how to make new heads or other parts for figure -ive been wanting to try a few things

making an iron fist -would need a head some of the shattered glass characters -repaints and i would need different heads for some

also an idea i have for turning bumble bee second printing form primes into a shattered glass version the generic troops form primes -his arm cannons and the fact they attach in car mode gave me the idea

Motto:"Remember, this hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need therapy."

Weapon: Electro-burst Rifle

chaosmage42 wrote:im interested in knowing how to make new heads or other parts for figure -ive been wanting to try a few things

making an iron fist -would need a head some of the shattered glass characters -repaints and i would need different heads for some

also an idea i have for turning bumble bee second printing form primes into a shattered glass version the generic troops form primes -his arm cannons and the fact they attach in car mode gave me the idea

Most of the time you can swap heads out from other TFs just by adding a ball joint to the neck of shaving a little off here and there to get them to fit. You can use an xacto knife to trim pieces off and reshape faces some, then epoxy on other bits of plastic to make faceplates or other alterations. Check the buy, sell, trade forums here on Seibertron.com for people selling parts you may need, like a particular head. Also look into shapeways.com where people have some great things available, like this Ironfist head http://www.shapeways.com/model/660157/w ... Box-searchExperiment and see what works best for you. Good luck

I would like to take my Classics 2.0 Ironhide and turn him into Soundwave using WFC deluxe Soundwave's head. I have a clear idea of what I'm doing (head-swap and repaint), bit I wanted to know if anyone has attempted anything similar, and had any tips on what did or didn't work for them.